One innovative method of agricultural preservation is the coordinated city-county agreement. Cities and county jointly adopt policies to direct urban development to cities and preserve agricultural land in rural areas. The jurisdictions agree that the county's role is to promote and support agricultural preservation and viability, and that the cities' role is to ensure compact growth and minimizing agricultural impacts.
One example exists between Yolo County and the cities of West Sacramento, Woodland, Winters and Davis, where urban development is directed to cities and the cities pass through a portion of the tax increment from redevelopment districts to the county.
These agreements can also bolster infill development and revitalization policies. General plan updates have been used for joint city-county planning that align expectations for future growth. The difficulty with any city-county agreement is that all parties must be willing to agree to and uphold the plans/policies in order for them to be effective.
In Yolo County, the agreement to a "hard edge" between urban and rural areas has put the county in a difficult financial situation. The goal of revenue sharing is to support economic viability of both the city and the county for the commitments each make, but this has been difficult to balance.